Interventions for Low Wage Workers w/ Achyuta Adhvaryu

People Business w/ O'Brien McMahon

Achyuta Adhvaryu is a Professor of Economics and the Director of the 21st Century India Center at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego. He is also the co-founder of Good Business Lab, a global nonprofit focused on rigorous research and action at the intersection of worker well-being and business interests. His research focuses on firm decision-making and productivity in emerging markets with extensive work across South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States. He holds a PhD in Economics from Yale University.

Mentioned on the Show

• Learn more about the Good Business Lab: https://goodbusinesslab.org/
• Read some of Ach’s work and research on his website: https://www.achadhvaryu.com/
• Ach on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/achyuta-adhvaryu-7a69b7136

Timestamps

(2:32) - Welcoming Ach.
(2:42) - What is your origin story of how this came to be?
(6:17) - What is the transformation you’ve seen in India?
(9:34) - What does it mean to treat your workers well?
(11:51) - Is treating people well good or good business?
(17:20) - Was there anything in your research that surprised you?
(24:28) - What were the interventions that helped reduce the turnover?
(28:19) - What do you do with the survey results?
(35:09) - What are some of the other factors that are moving the needle?
(36:15) - Why are building soft skills so important?
(49:26) - Is there anything unique to female workers?
(57:12) - What is the response from women?
(59:15) - Are businesses driving politics to become more liberal or progressive?
(46:58) - How has learning changed since the pandemic?
(51:07) - What are the best practices to make virtual learning engaging?
(56:11) - Can you talk about what a sabbatical means to you and how you would use them?
(1:03:06) - Where can people find you?